Congratulations to me—I just had my first “I love Chicago” moment. My life has forever been changed…by a red velvet truffle from Mariano’s on South Halsted in the West Loop. I’ve been in Chicago for exactly 2 weeks. I haven’t done as much as I would have liked yet, but I’ll get there.
Today at lunchtime, 2 of my coworkers asked me if I wanted to go to Mariano’s. I asked what Mariano’s was and one replied, “it’s like a supermarket.” The idea didn’t sound too appealing, so I hesitated and fumbled through a couple of excuses as to why I was too busy. After she blatantly informed me that I “got nothing better to do,” (how did she know?!) I reluctantly decided to tag along. I pass by this supermarket every day on my way to work—the Number 8 bus drops me off right in front of the gray building every morning. It looks large and has fancy lettering, but that’s how you can describe several buildings in downtown Chicago.
Upon entering the 2-story building, I soon realized that this was not your typical “supermarket.” To the left of the entrance is a sushi station. And not just an area where you can buy pre-packaged, subpar sushi. I mean a miniature kitchen with a U-shaped table and barstools where you can sit and eat your sushi on a rectangular wooden plate. I have to admit, I was so awed by the sushi station that I didn’t have a chance to see what else was on the first floor. I vaguely remember a bar (yes, a bar serving liquor) and an area with tables and chairs.
We then took the escalator up to the second floor. Directly in front of the escalator was a juicing station. They made fresh smoothies and sold freshly squeezed orange juice. I hear the OJ is tasty. We then headed toward the direction of the lunchtime crowd. Dozens of people were crowding around to grab something from the salad bar, deli, made-to-order pizza station, soup station, or bakery. The salad bar was well-stocked with a wide variety of vegetables and pastas. The soup station had at least 6 different types of soups. I was told that the soups are a big hit, so you better beat the lunch crowd if you want to ensure you leave with your favorite soup. The deli had fried meats, macaroni and cheese, potatoes, and a variety of other hot foods. I didn’t get a chance to see all of the pizza selections, but the menu on the wall looked pretty expansive.
And then there was the bakery. Sigh. I initially was drawn to the bakery because I noticed a large selection of exotic-looking breads. Once I got sucked into Carbohydrate Heaven there was no turning back. There were rows and rows of fresh donuts. It was lunchtime, so it was pretty easy for me to resist that temptation (if it had been 10:00 a.m. or earlier, I would have filled up at least 2 bags). I walked straight toward the cake/ pie/ brownie section. There were not just brownies, but cookies and cream infused brownies and caramel fudge brownies. There were mousse pies. Petit fours. Multiple cake flavors. And then there were truffles. I’m glad I had just checked my account balance before I entered Mariano’s, because if I had gone in blind, I might have done some serious damage. For the sake of money (and time), I decided to purchase just one thing. I asked for a slice of lemon cream cake, which was $2.75. “Is that all?” the sales associate asked me. Well if you’re asking, of course that’s not all. “I’ll also take a red velvet truffle.” This 75 cent ball of goodness just kept calling my name. I wasn’t even sure what a truffle was, but I knew I would risk 75 cents to find out.
Well, it’s been 2 hours since I left Mariano’s and I finally tried the truffle. All I can say is Oh My Gosh. It’s AMAZING. I tried to savor the rich flavor, so I ate it in about 5 bites.
I’ve had too much excitement for this work day. I’m not worthy of even taking one bite of the lemon cream cake. I’ll save that for home. The bottom line is, I am in love with Mariano’s. I will probably go at least once a week.
Check out Mariano's Web site below...
www.marianosfreshmarket.com
Today at lunchtime, 2 of my coworkers asked me if I wanted to go to Mariano’s. I asked what Mariano’s was and one replied, “it’s like a supermarket.” The idea didn’t sound too appealing, so I hesitated and fumbled through a couple of excuses as to why I was too busy. After she blatantly informed me that I “got nothing better to do,” (how did she know?!) I reluctantly decided to tag along. I pass by this supermarket every day on my way to work—the Number 8 bus drops me off right in front of the gray building every morning. It looks large and has fancy lettering, but that’s how you can describe several buildings in downtown Chicago.
Upon entering the 2-story building, I soon realized that this was not your typical “supermarket.” To the left of the entrance is a sushi station. And not just an area where you can buy pre-packaged, subpar sushi. I mean a miniature kitchen with a U-shaped table and barstools where you can sit and eat your sushi on a rectangular wooden plate. I have to admit, I was so awed by the sushi station that I didn’t have a chance to see what else was on the first floor. I vaguely remember a bar (yes, a bar serving liquor) and an area with tables and chairs.
We then took the escalator up to the second floor. Directly in front of the escalator was a juicing station. They made fresh smoothies and sold freshly squeezed orange juice. I hear the OJ is tasty. We then headed toward the direction of the lunchtime crowd. Dozens of people were crowding around to grab something from the salad bar, deli, made-to-order pizza station, soup station, or bakery. The salad bar was well-stocked with a wide variety of vegetables and pastas. The soup station had at least 6 different types of soups. I was told that the soups are a big hit, so you better beat the lunch crowd if you want to ensure you leave with your favorite soup. The deli had fried meats, macaroni and cheese, potatoes, and a variety of other hot foods. I didn’t get a chance to see all of the pizza selections, but the menu on the wall looked pretty expansive.
And then there was the bakery. Sigh. I initially was drawn to the bakery because I noticed a large selection of exotic-looking breads. Once I got sucked into Carbohydrate Heaven there was no turning back. There were rows and rows of fresh donuts. It was lunchtime, so it was pretty easy for me to resist that temptation (if it had been 10:00 a.m. or earlier, I would have filled up at least 2 bags). I walked straight toward the cake/ pie/ brownie section. There were not just brownies, but cookies and cream infused brownies and caramel fudge brownies. There were mousse pies. Petit fours. Multiple cake flavors. And then there were truffles. I’m glad I had just checked my account balance before I entered Mariano’s, because if I had gone in blind, I might have done some serious damage. For the sake of money (and time), I decided to purchase just one thing. I asked for a slice of lemon cream cake, which was $2.75. “Is that all?” the sales associate asked me. Well if you’re asking, of course that’s not all. “I’ll also take a red velvet truffle.” This 75 cent ball of goodness just kept calling my name. I wasn’t even sure what a truffle was, but I knew I would risk 75 cents to find out.
Well, it’s been 2 hours since I left Mariano’s and I finally tried the truffle. All I can say is Oh My Gosh. It’s AMAZING. I tried to savor the rich flavor, so I ate it in about 5 bites.
I’ve had too much excitement for this work day. I’m not worthy of even taking one bite of the lemon cream cake. I’ll save that for home. The bottom line is, I am in love with Mariano’s. I will probably go at least once a week.
Check out Mariano's Web site below...
www.marianosfreshmarket.com
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